CW wasted no time in announcing pickups for three of its biggest hits. Arrow, The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural will all be back in Fall 2013. CW President Mark Pedowitz said all three are successful not just in TV ratings, but digitally and socially. They’re hits in the demos that advertisers love, too.

The Vampire Diaries is CW’s highest-rated show among the adult 18-34 and women 18-34 demographic. Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries are long-running shows on the network. Supernatural will mark its ninth season in fall 2013, The Vampire Diaries its fifth. The true surprise of this group is Arrow, based on a character unknown outside of comic shops until his appearance on Smallville. CW shocked many fans when it didn’t use Justin Hartley, the actor who played Green Arrow on that show. CW dropped the “Green” from his name for the new show.

The new take was gritter, more Christopher Nolan-like. For example, in the comic books Count Vertigo is a real nobleman with superpowers that allow him to give people vertigo. In the TV show, he’s a drug deal and “Vertigo” is the chemical he’s selling to rich kids.

Stephen Amell picked up Oliver Queen’s quiver, and viewers have embraced him. Arrow is CW’s most watched show with an estimated 4.3 million viewers weekly. It has even given a boost to Supernatural on Wednesdays. The show’s ratings have gone up 15% among total viewers, 10% in adults 18-34 and 18% in adults 18-49 since it got Arrow as a lead-in.

This is a remarkable turnaround for a character once so unpopular he got killed in his own book. DC replaced the character with a long lost son of his who proved even less popular. Like so many comic heroes before him, Oliver Queen got over his “death” and returned to the DC Universe. The CW effort updates things for a new generation but keeps many basic elements of his origin. The young, brash millionaire gets marooned on a seemingly deserted island. There he learns to fight and hunt, becoming an expert archer. Once he returns home, he uses his new skills to fight evil.